PRESENTATION SILVER HOMECOMING CEREMONY

USS DULUTH PRESENTATION SILVER

HOMECOMING CEREMONY

On Friday, October 28th, 2016, a dream that was over two years in the making was realized and celebrated. The USS Duluth Presentation Silver set was returned to the City of Duluth, MN, where it originated nearly 50 years ago. The 19 piece set of silver consists of formal coffee service and punch service items and candelabra and was kept in the ship’s wardroom for formal entertaining purposes. The honored tradition of a city or state for which a Navy ship is named, presenting the ship with a formal silver service set dates back to 1799.

The celebratory homecoming ceremony took place on October 28th at 1500 CDT, at the site of our ship’s Anchor Monument in Duluth. The event included a ceremonial return of representative pieces of the set by ship’s crew Plank Owners, Jerry Schultz and Bill O’Hara, (original members of the crew, who were among the first to set foot aboard the ship) to Mr. Ben Boo – mayor of Duluth (1967-75) at the time the set was presented to the ship. Mr. Boo then handed the pieces to the current Mayor of Duluth, Ms. Emily Larson who, in turn, handed them to St. Louis County Historical Society executives John Werner and John Marshall. Jerry Schultz traveled from Lakewood, CA to attend the ceremony, and Bill O’Hara traveled from San Diego, CA, at their own expense. Their presence is very noteworthy since they were on the ship when the silver set was presented.

Also in attendance were: U.S. Congressman Rick Nolan, U.S. Congressman Tim Waltz, who serves on both the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Veterans Affairs Committee, Senator & LCDR Roger Reinert. The USS Duluth LPD-6 Presentation Silver set will become a focal centerpiece in a USS Duluth museum exhibit, scheduled to open for display on Memorial Day 2017.

It is relatively rare for a ship’s Presentation Silver set to return to its place of origin. We were honored to have played a role in celebrating this historic event.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Below are the links to the videos of the ceremony. There are two parts that last approximately 18 minutes each.